Dancing with Debbie
From July 15-19, young dancers in Williamson had the chance to attend special dance camps offered by Debbie’s Dance Studio. The studio offered 3 different camps for 3 different age groups.
Dancers from 2-4 years old attended the Tiny Tutu class, where they danced wearing butterfly wings and learned about rhythm. So many students registered for the class that Debbie Carlin, the instructor, had to offer a second Tiny Tutu class. Kids aged 5-7 brought their favorite dolls to
the “Me and My Dolly: Passport to Paris” camp, where they learned important dancing steps and performed with their dolls. The oldest dancers, aged 7 to 11, attended the Leap! Ballerina camp, which pushed them to understand why they love dancing and was based on Leap!, a 2016 movie about a young ballerina.
A Parisian Tea Party
The theme of all three camps involved Paris, France, and on the last day, students celebrated with a tea party set in “Paris”. She describes the special moment when dancers showed up for the tea party as one of her favorite moments. “All the campers were told to show up in their best dresses, for a party in Paris,” she says. “My favorite part was opening the door to the waiting area and seeing this mass of little girls, dressed in fancy dresses...and the look on their faces were of absolute happiness and excitement...I’ll never forget it. That was my favorite part.”
For most students, the best part of the camps were the various arts-and-crafts activities, which included everything from coloring sheets to melted crayon paintings. All of the art they made was hung on the walls for the final tea party. Many of the students wrote notes to Debbie on their projects, telling her how much they loved her, which was another special moment for her.
Encouraging Positive Thinking Through Dance
This was the third year Debbie’s Dance Studio hosted dance camps. Themes for previous years included a princess dance camp and a baby-doll dance camp. She had the idea to host the camps to keep students interested throughout the summer and attract new students to the art of dance.
For Debbie, the camps are important because it encourages the students to express themselves. “This is definitely creating good memories and positive feelings for them. When they expressed themselves through the artwork and then received positive feedback for it, I could see it lifted them up… this area needs positive role models, positive actions, positive events, positive reward systems for the youth.”
She hopes that students at the camp come away feeling good about dance. “Dance makes you forget about everything for a little while, and you are transported to a place where you feel good about yourself.”
Excited for a New Year of Dance
There’s still a lot to do for dancers at the studio. Registration for fall classes will be from August 1-3 and will cost $20 from 5pm-7pm each day. The first classes will start the week of August 19th.
Debbie and her dancers are “excited to start the new year.” They also have another performance on the schedule for August: the 17th, dancers will perform numbers from their June recital at the #lovewilliamson event.
To learn more about registration and stay updated on upcoming recitals, follow the Debbie’s Dance Studio Facebook page.
Visit here to read more about Debbie’s Dance Studio.
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